Pittsburgh Creative Corps: Artist Nomination
Pittsburgh Creative Corps: Artist Nomination
I. Summary
Shiftworks and Riverlife seek artists living in southwestern Pennsylvania to be considered for the Pittsburgh Creative Corps (Corps), a group of pre-qualified artists whose work has been reviewed by a panel of artists, art and design professionals, and community stakeholders for various public art opportunities in southwest Pennsylvania. An online directory featuring Corps artist profiles is available at tinyurl.com/corps-artist-directory to serve as a resource for public agencies, private businesses, or other organizations that seek to commission artwork in the public realm in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh Creative Corps was originally designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the opportunity to engage artists and creative workers to activate the public realm while providing economic opportunity. The Corps was designed to make the artist selection and vetting process for individual projects more equitable and time efficient, allowing the program to more quickly commission artists. Based on the success of the pilot program and increased interest in commissioning artists for opportunities to work in public space, the decision was made to continue the Corps. The Corps continues to engage a broad pool of artists in southwestern Pennsylvania for various public art opportunities that arise.
II. About the Pittsburgh Creative Corps
The Corps is an initiative of Shiftworks and Riverlife with funding from a variety of sources, including the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. The Corps is a coordinated effort to commission artists and other creative workers to fabricate and install public art, and create civic engagement programs throughout the Downtown neighborhood and river-adjacent spaces.
Members of the Corps are pre-qualified artists who may receive invitations for temporary and permanent public art projects managed and/or commissioned by the Corps stakeholders. An online directory featuring Corps artist profiles will be available at tinyurl.com/corps-artist-directory to serve as a tool for public agencies, private businesses, or other organizations that seek to commission artwork in the public realm in southwestern Pennsylvania.
As projects are defined and funded, Corps artists may receive an invitation to indicate their interest and availability for the specific project. The Corps artist(s) would then go through a simplified selection process for the potential commission, which may include an interview or submission of a paid project proposal.
Shiftworks and Riverlife will use the Corps in the following ways:
- As projects are identified, scoped, and budgeted, staff may identify a shortlist of artists from the Corps and invite them to indicate their interest and availability for the commission. If they are interested and available, they may be invited to participate in an interview or other selection process with project stakeholders.
- Staff may also identify one or more Corps artists and invite them to submit a paid conceptual proposal for a project or commission that has been identified, scoped, and budgeted.
- Staff may utilize the Corps to connect artists and others to fabrication and implementation resources.
- The Pittsburgh Creative Corps Directory is available to public agencies, private businesses, and other organizations who seek to commission artists for projects in the public realm.
- Staff may elect to design opportunities to support the specific development needs of Corps artists with little or no experience working in the public realm in order to expand the capabilities and experience of Corps artists.
In addition, all members of the Corps will be notified via Shiftworks' Artist Opportunity List of open calls for artists that are released by Shiftworks or Riverlife.
III. Eligibility & Review Criteria
This Pittsburgh Creative Corps is open to all artists living and working in southwestern Pennsylvania, including those working in visual arts, literary, performance, and other forms of practice. Artists who identify as established public artists, early/mid career public artists, and artists whose practice is poised for an opportunity in the public realm, regardless of career level and who fulfill the review criteria below are encouraged to apply
Artists who have previously applied to the Corps but were not accepted are encouraged to reapply.
What is our definition of public art?
At Shiftworks, we define public art as all art that impacts the public realm, regardless of ownership of the land on which it is located. Public art may include physical artworks, such as sculptures or murals, or other types of artist-designed activations of the public realm, such as performances, workshops, walking tours, etc.
What is our definition of the public realm?
We define the public realm as the physical space and place from building face to building face that influences the way in which we experience and inhabit the shared spaces of our city. It includes exterior spaces, such as streets, sidewalks, front yards, parks, public courtyards and plazas, and building facades. In our definition, it can also include interior spaces if those spaces are open and fully accessible to the general public. Examples of interior spaces that are part of the public realm include public libraries, public transit stations, and public buildings such as government offices.
Artists will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Past work shows a strong, consistent, and clear artistic voice
- Experience working collaboratively, either in their artistic practice or other experience
- Interest in working on public art and/or collaborative art projects with community members, as demonstrated in the responses to the Artist Questionnaire
- Strength of past work in the self-selected areas of expertise and media indicated in the application
- Responses to the Artist Questionnaire
Inclusion in the Corps does not guarantee a commission. In addition, Riverlife and Shiftworks may release additional open calls for artists that include artists beyond those listed on the Corps Roster.
IV. Nomination and Artist Selection Process
Artist nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. Shiftworks will reach out to invite each nominee to submit further application materials for review. Twice a year, a panel of art and design professionals and community stakeholders will review application materials and select a list of pre-qualified artists for future Corps projects and will be added to the online Corps directory. Nominees/applicants are not guaranteed selection into the Corps.
Nominators must submit an artist nomination via the electronic form fields below: